AEA welcomes Laura Gildenstern and Sumi Srikanth as Summer Analysts for 2025. Selected from over 500 applicants, we are pleased to have Laura and Sumi join our team this year.  

Laura Gildenstern

With over a decade in the creative and cultural industries, Laura brings a unique background combining cultural strategy consulting, data analysis and the performing arts. She has previously worked in consulting teams where she helped create governance frameworks and initiatives, developed cultural activation concepts, and conducted qualitative and quantitative research and analysis. Her background in the performing arts includes both artistic and administrative experience: she has performed as an orchestral musician and has completed administrative internships at the Bavarian and Vienna State Operas. She holds a BA in Music Performance and German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as an MA in Arts Management and Administration from SDA Bocconi in Milan. Laura has a particular interest in strategy, the performing arts, and cultural policy.

Rajalaxmi (Sumi) Srikanth

Sumi is currently pursuing an MA in Arts & Nonprofit Leadership and an MBA in Strategy & Entrepreneurship and Management & Organizations at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is passionate about leveraging her background in the arts, nonprofit, and business sectors to support AEA Consulting's projects in the cultural and creative industries. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, having recently completed an MFA in Dance from Texas Woman's University, and volunteers with the Blackland Prairie Texas Master Naturalists, a program that promotes ecosystem stewardship through education and service.